Americans love hot dogs! It's that time of year again - summertime, eating outside, and lots of grilling! So maybe pass the processed meat, please? You've probably heard all the urban legends about hotdogs: They contain pig ears,
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Americans love hot dogs! It's that time of year again - summertime, eating outside, and lots of grilling! So maybe pass the processed meat, please? You've probably heard all the urban legends about hotdogs: They contain pig ears, snouts, tails, and every other animal entrail you'd never touch with a 10-foot pole. But they're not all bad! There are organic or grass-fed, higher in omega-3s and vitamins, and untainted by the genetically modified animal feed, hormones, or antibiotics in unhealthy factory-farmed fare. So grab your tongs and hit the grill!!

This originally German fare has become a staple in households across the United States. Hot dogs are in such demand by consumers that manufacturers have created many varieties to please them. From Chicago style to New York style, all natural to processed, and beef to chicken, Americans are getting their fill of a favorite food.

A hot dog is a fully cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed. It is typically served in a sliced bun, as a corn dog dipped in corn batter and deep fried, or as an ingredient in other dishes like beanie weenies. It is often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish, cheese, chili and/or sauerkraut.

Americans eat 150 million hot dogs over the summer months. Grilling and campfires are the most popular ways that they prepare their hot dogs in the hot weather.

So what are your favorite choice(s) of hot dogs and what do you like to garnish them with?

I try to avoid eating hot dogs unless I absolutely have to at a family barbecue or something (I dislike store-bought hamburgers even more than hot dogs). I try to eat good quality meats, and hot dogs just don't embody that.

When I still ate hotdogs, I ate only Juicy Jumbos. But now I get so ill when I eat processed meats- and in the past when I ate them, I never realised that the rare headaches and body swelling I got were from hot dogs.

Now? Well, if I am craving a hot dog, I will make homemade sausages. It is just not worth being ill to eat a hot dog.